Hate is a powerful emotion.
Sure its impact has been diminished by its new fad-like use as a term for everything from mild irritation to medium discontent about a subject matter, but I am still old school about the term.
If I hate something, I really hate something in that full-on way that respects the power of the emotion.
Hate is not something to be treated lightly as a term and people who accuse others of hatred should realize that it is considered to be a major decision to accuse somebody of hatred.
That said, I do have something about which I could easily use the term hatred. It may seem trivial but I hate new vehicles at car shows.
Recently I was at a car show in a picturesque little town that builds the appeal of the annual show around the old iron, yet they allow brand new vehicles into the show.
The main street of the show was a blend of brand new cars and trucks showcased with the old classics. This foolish approach was one of the reasons that many car guys have stopped attending the show in recent years.
Most of us have an enormous amount of respect for the new vehicles because they offer state-of-the-art engineering and every reason to appreciate their sheer 21st century efficiency. We also know that these new vehicles are seen on every street and highway in North America 24/7 365 days of the year, including Christmas Day.
What we don’t see every day is a steady diet of vehicles from the last century. They have been largely wiped out by the ravages of time and use, so we celebrate them with car shows that honor the style and appeal of vehicles from yesteryear.
The subject of unwelcome guests at a car show was misinterpreted by one woman who felt that some of the older vehicles that were showing lots of wear and tear were the real culprits at the show. These esthetically-challenged vehicles got her attention for all of the wrong reasons and she felt that they were an eyesore.
She had no car guy soul and could not connect the dots on the old car culture. She was completely oblivious to the fact that every one of those unrestored vehicles had a long history behind them and had lived to tell their story in 2013 through their less-than-perfect cosmetic appearance.
The new cars and trucks on the same center stage with the old cars and trucks at that show were the real intruders. The new vehicles had no story to tell because they were brand new-ergo no story to tell. New car salesmen are still telling the new cars’ stories and their only real story is their list of new car features.
That’s why I toured the side streets and rail area to find many of the banished older vehicles that should have been front and center on Main Street at that show. Instead they were inexplicably replaced at the main show by new cars and trucks that were the real unwelcome party crashers for most car guys at that show.
Yes, I really do hate new cars at a vintage car show in the old school sense of the term for hatred.
Jim Sutherland
